All Is Fair In Love And War
by Draculaluvsamy
Summary: Lana is new at sky high. Torn between 3 groups she gets sucked into a world of romance, rivalry and friendship and betrayal. But who will stand by her? Who will protect her when the world turns on her? Review!
1. The Beginning

-1**All's Fair In Love And War**

The summer evening air was still, the windows wide open in the hope that it would tempt a non existing wind into the small stuffy room. Soft bird song drifted through the window and around the bare room. A bed, a desk and a chair, all stood in the room, but no personal items, or photographs that could have told you about the occupant of the room were on show. It was an empty shell of a room.

The owner of this room was currently lying on the bed, her head buried in her pillow, that did not reflect her personality in anyway with the plain white bedcover. She was pretending to be asleep because of the old nun sitting in the straight backed chair opposite the bed. The nun was cross stitching a blue and green design on black cloth that was slowly taking the shape of a bird, slowly humming an old tune under her breath.

The occupants name was Lana Arkanfire, and she had lived at Dawnsbrooke Home For Children since she was 2 years old, and she was now 15 years old. She was a pretty girl, with silky jet black hair which hung in beautiful bouncy waves slightly past her shoulders. Her smouldering chocolate eyes and dark lashes complimented her bronzed satin skin to perfection. She was wearing a pair of low slung light blue jeans and a pink vest top under an open black shirt. A small silver cross lay nestled in the hollow of her delicate throat, the hot metal causing her light discomfort as the bright sunlight lay on her face and throat.

She cursed under her breath. She had wanted to get out of the orphanage even if it was just for a little bit, seeing as it was such a wonderful day, and she hardly ever got to go out on her own, a taste of freedom, without the other younger children tagging along. So she had told the nuns who ran the home that she had a headache and was going to lie down for a while. But unfortunately for Lana, Sister Greta, an old strict nun had insisted to come along and look after her, so to avoid conversation with the old nun she had pretended to fall asleep. But now she regretted that choice too.

Her face was squashed against the warm pillow, and her arm was crushed uncomfortably underneath her hip, but she didn't dare move in case the num started up conversation about God and what was wrong with the world. Even though Lana had been raised by nuns she did not believe that a God could exist and bring such pain and suffering upon the world, like the death of her parents.

Even though she barley ever talked about her parents the memories she still had were painful for her. Of course she wouldn't tell the nuns that she didn't believe in God. They would wash her mouth out with soap if she even suggested such a thing. A thing they had already done several times, a thing which Lana was in no hurry to experience again.

Being the oldest child at Dawnsbrooke it was quite humiliating especially as it happened in front of the other children. Who laughed. Then teased her about it for days after. Yeah. Not fun. She had been like this for the past hour. Lying on her bed doing nothing. She would have thought the nun would have left by now. Anyway it was too late to go anywhere now. Still Lana would have preferred to be alone.

Suddenly a faint voice could be heard calling, "Sister Greta! Sister Greta!" The nun sighed slightly and placed her needlework on the desk. Padding softly on her worn feet she walked to the door trying not to disturb Lara, opened it and slipped out, closing it softly behind her. As soon as she heard the door close Lana sat up, shaking her aching hand where she had been lying on it and rubbed her red cheek. She ruffled her hair slightly, as it was flattened on one side.

She stretched slowly then reached under her pillow and pulled out a picture, tattered and faded, and creased. She stroked it softly tracing the long gone smiling faces of he parents. Her mother, tall and slim, with Lana's chocolate eyes and heart-warming smile. Her father, the same jet black hair as Lana, the same strength in their faces and the same button nose. And then her in the middle, her hair in pigtails, wearing a pink dress no more than 2 years old. Her parents arms were wrapped around her, and Lana thought she had never seen a more loving family. But this life had been cruelly torn from her.

How cruel, for a little girl of 2 to listen to her parents die, not knowing that they were dying, but the sounds that had come from their mouths had terrified her and still did to this day, tormenting her worst nightmares echoing in her mind . And even when she awoke in the darkness, her sweat making the thin white sheets stick to her body she could still hear the shadowy remainders of those shrieks and she lived the nightmare again for a few brief minutes. During this time she would cower under the covers straining her ears listening for any noises that meant her parents killers were coming for her. But of course they never did.

Then she would relax slightly and drift back off to sleep and have no more nightmares, just normal dreams where she was in a world made of chocolate or something and in the morning she would barely remember the nights events. But occasionally the nightmares would be so vivid, so real, she could taste them, smell them, feel the hot stuffy air of the church on that day. And her memories would come to life and she could not wake up.

_The church was huge. Bigger than mummy. Bigger than daddy. Bigger than the house. Lana had never seen anything like it. She craned her little neck upwards looking at the big pictures of people on the curved ceiling and then fell backwards onto her bottom. She wailed slightly, her cheeks going rosy, her bottom lip quivering. It was hot and stuffy inside the church and it was making Lana slightly cranky. _

_Her mother suddenly came over and scooped her up planting a large kiss on the girls cheek and she giggled cheekily smacking her hands together. Her mummy tightened one of the pink ribbons tying her hair into little bunches, and then smoothed out the wrinkles in her pink dress. Up ahead there was large sculpture of a man with his arms out. He looked sad and Lana didn't like the statue, it scared her. _

"_She's getting tired," remarked her mother to her father who was standing at the base of the statue doing something on the floor. "I'm almost done I just-" Lana yawned and missed the last of her fathers sentence. Her eyes were drooping slightly. Her mother placed her on the floor and she tottered over to her father, sticking her head under his and smiling. _

_He smiled back then returned to what he was doing. His hands seemed to be stuck in a large stone, but he was moving his hands through the stone as easily as you could through the air. Lana turned to her mother who was standing in the middle of an aisle between pews, looking up at a stained glass window depicting a man bowing to another. _

_Slowly a gentle breeze began to fill the church and Lana's mother slowly turned to face her father. "They're here." she said her eyes turning black. Lana watched her father pull his hands out of the stone, and he ran over to Lana and grabbed her as the wind began to get stronger. He struggled over to the statue of the sad man and placed her inside a small cupboard just below his legs. " Stay here," he told her "And whatever you do, do not make a sound. Shhh baby! Understand Lana? Shhh!" He kissed her on the cheek, leaving a faint smell of Lynx Africa and shut the doors leaving a faint line of light on Lana's face. _

_Suddenly the church was filled with shrieking wind, bangs, shouts and crashes. Then the shrieking began. It was her mummy, and it shrieked and howled, louder than the wind, cutting into the very core of Lana's head. And then came another, the same if not worse and it was her daddy. Lara pressed her little fists against her head but kept quiet like daddy had told her to. Suddenly all noise ceased. The wind stopped. The shrieking stopped. And then came a noise which chilled the little girl to her bones. A laugh. A deep, menacing, soul draining laugh. _

_The little girl struggled not to cry and wet herself. There was suddenly footsteps in her direction, slowly, slowly. Suddenly there was a loud bang as a door was flung open and the footsteps disappeared and were replaced with a slow pad of heavy feet and then someone said something, and then Lana could hold it no longer. She began to cry, big fat tears rolling down her face, wailing, louder and louder. _

_The pad of heavy footsteps increased and suddenly the line of light on Lana's face disappeared, and the door was wrenched open. A woman with an old face looked at her kindly, picked her up and carried her down the aisle, amid the carnage. As Lana looked back at the statue, she noticed under one of the pews, a delicate hand, clasped in another. Then she left the church forever._


	2. A New School

**A New School**

The gentle tapping of the nun's footsteps echoed outside Lana's door. Hurriedly she placed the photo of her and her parents, the only photo of her and her parents, under the pillow but before she could lie down and pretend to still be asleep, the nuns hand was on the door handle and the door opened. Lana groaned inside her head. The nun beamed with delight to see Lana sitting up, her face crinkling. "Ahh Lana," she said softly in her withered old voice, "So nice for you to be finally up. Has your headache gone?" Lana turned to face the nun. "Yes, Sister Greta," she said with a hint of resentment in her voice. However this resentment was not for sister Greta, but for the lost chance of spending time alone outside away from the orphanage.

"Are you feeling hungry Lana?" asked the nun picking up her abandoned sewing. Lana picked at the duvet cover absentmindedly. "I don't know," she said. "Not really." The nun snorted. "Rubbish!" she said her eyes focused on her sewing. "All young girls must eat food. You'll turn into an anorexic Lana! You are already too skinny; the sisters and I have decided we need to put some more meat on you. And do you know what that means?" Lana looked up hopefully. "More junk food?" she asked playing with her cross. The nun shook her head laughing slightly, a strange, halting, accented laugh.

Her face became serious. "No," she said, "The sisters and I agreed on a strict diet for all the children. That means only fresh, wholesome, organic food. None of this chocolate or soda. Instead you will have our lovely fresh vegetables and lots of cream and cheese to make you plumper." Lana sighed flinging herself back on the pillow dramatically.

"You are lucky Lana," said Sister Greta. "You have a wonderful diet and you are healthy and are happy here." Lana sat up. "Yes, happy…" she remarked sarcastically. Sister Greta beamed at Lana, oblivious to the sarcasm in her voice. "See I told you. Oh and speaking of changes I have some news for you."

Lana turned away from the window that she had been gazing out of longingly, wishing to be outside of the tall walls surrounding the orphanage. "What?" she asked curiously. "The sisterhood and I have decided that it would be best fro you to start school seeing as you are the oldest child in the sanctuary." Lana's jaw dropped. "Say again?" Lana said in confusion. The nun tutted at Lana's choice of language. "I said my dear, that tomorrow you are to start school. We can teach you no more."

"I'm 15!" argued Lana in protest. "I don't need to go to school anymore!" She ran one hand through her bed ruffled hair. "Your name has been on the waiting list since you were born. This is quite a special school. We believe it will help you fulfil your potential." Lana stared at the nun in shock. "You mean you're sending me to retard school?"

"No, no," said Sister Greta reassuringly. "It's not that sort of special school. It's for very talented people. You will understand tomorrow." Suddenly the nun gave out a small gasp. Lana looked up from her sulk, seeing the nun clutching her finger, where a small droplet of blood was forming from a cut. "Do you want me to get a plaster?" asked Lana concerned. Sister Greta shook her head and smiled. "No, no I will be fine," said Sister Greta. "Now just run along to dinner please, and make sure you eat every last mouthful!" Lana left the room, half glad that the conversation with the nun had taken place without any mention of God.

Back in Lana's room, Sister Greta examined the small cut from the needle. As she did so suddenly her already hazel eyes began to turn a lime green colour and slowly the skin of her cut finger, wove back into place, the small capillaries knitting themselves back together until only a small droplet of blood was left on the nuns finger. Smiling the nun pulled a tissue from her cardigan and wiped away the blood.

Lana awoke to the high pitched squeal of Sister Bertha's voice. "Morning sunshine," she squealed in Lana's ear, her voice a soft Irish lilt. She pulled open the curtains enthusiastically. Lana raised her head from the pillow struggling to open her heavy eyes. She glanced at the alarm clock on her chest of drawers and let her head fall back to the pillow. "It's 7 o'clock!" she moaned as Sister Bertha pulled the covers off the bed, leaving Lana shivering in the crisp September air coming through the open window. "Yes and your bus arrives in one hour!" said Sister Bertha cheerfully. "Isn't it exciting?" She clapped her hands together with a broad grin on her plump face.

Lana sat up sleepily. "Fine," she groaned, "I'm up!" She stood up and grabbed her clothes off the end of her bed. She trudged out of her room and down the corridor to the shared bathroom. Thankfully it was empty as most of the other kids would probably be in bed. She had a quick shower then climbed out and dried her hair with a towel letting it curl at her shoulders. She pulled on her jeans and slipped her long rolling stones top over her head before fastening a studded belt around her waist. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face.

Glancing at her watch she saw it was quarter to eight. Giving her reflection one last glance she dashed back to her room and pulled on her personalised converses. Grabbing her bag, she rushed downstairs to the small kitchen, which was thankfully empty and sneakily grabbed a piece of toast before running out of the door and down the path. Reaching the gate she noted the bus that was just about to pull up. Without stopping to open the gate she placed her hand on the top and half jumped, half climbed over the gate. She landed just as the bus pulled up and stopped. Taking a deep breath she climbed on board.

"Howdy there," called the bus driver, a 30 year old man wearing a baseball cap, a big smile on his chubby face. "Ron Wilson, bus driver." Lana eyed him warily. "Um, hi" Behind her the bus door hissed shut and she gave a slight start. As she moved to the aisle, she noticed someone waving her over. She walked towards him nervously. He was a boy, about the same age as her, with white hair, noticeably pale skin and red eyes. He was quite good looking, in a cute sort of way. "Hey you can sit here, if you want." Lana nodded gratefully and sat down. "I'm Xander by the way." Said the boy. Lana smiled. "I'm Lana."

Xander smiled excitedly. "Cool, oh in case you haven't noticed yet, I'm an albino. Just in case you are wondering about the eyes." Lana nodded appreciatively. "So you're new huh?" asked Xander rummaging through hi pocket. "Yeah," replied Lana. "You?" Xander looked up. "Gum?" he asked offering a packet of gum. "Um, no thanks" said Lana. Xander popped some gum into his own mouth. "Nah," he said answering her previous question. "This is my second year. But we'll be in the same class won't we. How old are you?"

"15," said Lana, slightly overwhelmed by the talkative Xander. "Cool, cool. Same." said Xander. "So what's your power?" Lana turned to Xander puzzled. "What-?" she asked. She was suddenly cut short when 2 heavy grey seatbelts snaked across her hest and pulled her back tightly to the chair. Glancing around she noticed the same had happened to everyone else, but no one seemed as puzzled as she did, in fact most of the kids seemed excited as if waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly she was snapped back against the chair as the bus fell and tumbled through air. She let out a moan of terror. Next to her she heard other shrieks but this seemed to be of enjoyment rather than fear. Turning to look at Xander, she noticed the look of enjoyment in his eyes and his hands were in the air, as were most of the other kids.

Suddenly she felt the bus regain control and it began to move normally again. But as she looked out of the window she was quite shocked to just see clouds and blue sky. "What was that?" she asked Xander breathlessly. "What is going on?" Xander looked at her as if she was stupid. "Oh yeah," he said suddenly a smile on his face, "I keep forgetting you're new. The only way to get to Sky High is to fly obviously, but Ron just likes to make it fun." Lana looked at him suspiciously, one eyebrow raised. "Fly?" she asked. "Yeah!" said Xander nodding enthusiastically. "Look there it is!" he said pointing out of the window. "Sky High!" Lana followed his finger to see a collection of large buildings floating in the sky! Her mouth dropped. Slowly the bus landed on a patch of tarmac in front of the buildings.

"Welcome to Sky High!" said Xander happily, patting Lana's shoulder. He grabbed his bag and stood up, and Lana did the same. Slowly in a daze she got off the bus staring up at the buildings. Xander suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her forwards. "Come on," he told her already walking up some steps, "I'll take you to the reception." Lana followed obediently looking in awe at the school. With disbelief she noticed kids flying, running incredibly fast. She noticed two boys suddenly get turned into a block of ice, by a tall thin girl, who walked off smiling.

"Xander?" she asked hesitantly. He stopped and turned to look at her. "Yeah?" he asked cocking his head to the side. "What is this place?" she asked gesturing to the school, from where they stood at the top of some steps leading into the biggest building. He grinned and put his arm around her. "This is the greatest collection of future heroes and sidekicks in the world!" Lana suddenly understood everything. A goofy smile spread across her face as they walked inside the school. He took her to sit her on a blue plastic chair then said something to a young woman at a desk. They both turned and smiled at her as a bell rang over head. Xander walked over to Lana sheepishly, his hand sin his pockets.

"Well I have to be off," he said gesturing somewhere behind him, "But can we meet up at lunch?" Lana nodded, glad to have made a friend already. "Sure." Xander flashed her another bright smile then walked off down the corridor turning just before he reached the end. "Oh and good luck with power placement!" he called to her as he went through a door? "What's power placement?" she called after him, but he was already gone. The sinking feeling in Lana's stomach deepened. Power placement did not sound like a very good thing at all.


End file.
